MarketingProfs' Members Register for B2B Forum 2010 for just $695! (good until 11/30) »

Ask your question ... sign up today! It's FREE!
Copywriting     
 
This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
Brochure Question List
Posted By: hillary_kurtzman on 8/4/2005 3:31 PM (CST) 250 Points
I have been asked to develop copy for a brochure that has basically already been designed graphically/conceptually (not our ideal situation but that is what I have to work with for now). I am trying to come up with a list of questions that I should ask the customer so that I can start developing copy for them. I have the usual - who is the target market, what are the objectives, etc. but I'm trying to think of what else I should ask so that I have everything I need to actually start writing copy.

Posted by: mgoodman Accepted Answer
8/4/2005 6:58 PM (CST)
I'd ask for, or help your client develop, a SWOT analysis, positioning statement, and creative brief that lays out what success looks like for them on this copywriting project.

Anything else you can get will certainly help, but I'd think these are required at a minimum. Otherwise, you will be in "personal preference" territory, where they can keep saying, "Not quite there yet ..." for months and months, and countless iterations.

You'll also be doing them a favor by getting them to focus on their goals and the criteria by which they will judge what you deliver to them.
 
Posted by: sham Accepted Answer
8/5/2005 12:35 AM (CST)
hillary,
one impportant question you should ask your client is why they zeroed in on the theme/concept i think it will help you to a great extent in developing copywrite the brochure. and if you feel that the concept they have finalized is not so good you may convince them to change it. this question is very important.

Since you have not given details about product/ service and industry and location it is difficult to suggest you some other questions.

hope this helps you
 
Posted by: stephanie.brewer Accepted Answer
8/5/2005 2:31 PM (CST)
I suggest you contact the client and ask how tied they are to the design (but use extreme caution...you may want to find out who did the design...they may be very proud of the work and insulted by anyone who thinks it's less than fabulous).
Often as a copywriter you will be forced to write to the whims of the client for better or worse, so you'll need to keep your thoughts and ideas flexible.
On the other hand if you come up with a strong presentation on your design and ideas...you may be able to persuade the client to move in your direction.
 
Posted by: BrianL* Accepted Answer
8/5/2005 6:16 PM (CST)
Hi Hillary,

Here are some additional suggested questions:

1) Can I see any existing material that you [the client] have judged to be successful in the past -- and similarly, any material you used that didn't work at all?
2) Do you have any letters, emails, or other material from your customers that I can see in order to get a feel for their language and how they talk about your products / services? [It would especially helpful to see any positive feedback from customers *in their words*.]
3) Can you direct me to any competitor websites or pass on any material from competitors so I can see how they describe themselves?
4) Are there any customers I can talk to briefly by phone?

Basically, you are looking for *anything* that will help you put yourself in your client's customer's shoes.

Hope that helps --

Brian
 
Posted by: Frances* Accepted Answer
8/9/2005 5:11 PM (CST)
Hi there

Good questions above.

Also, don't forget to ask about the 'end-user':

How will the brochure be used?
How will it be delivered?
What will customers (ie, the final readers of the brochure) be feeling when they get it?
What questions are they likely to have?
Will the brochure be helping them to solve a particular problem?
...and so on...

As a writer, I often find that my customers do not understand their customers. And at the end of the day (to use a horrid cliche) that's who you're writing for.
So if possible try to speak to one or two of the people who will be using the brochure... it's dangerous to assume that your customer knows everything!
 
Posted by: sureet* Accepted Answer
8/13/2005 4:42 AM (CST)
There are two things to be done and which is to find out first what exactly to say and how to say it so that it moves the target audience.

1. Since the design concept has already been developed, it is important to know what the designer intends to communicate through that concept.

What is the message ?
What emotions is the design supposed to arouse ?
Is the brochure design intended to be informative or pitch the product on an image pedestal ?

Answers to the above will have an impact on the style of the language to be adopted and how the product /service featured in the brochure should be talked about.

2. The copy to be developed for the brochure has to address the customer needs to whom the brochure is directed. Therefore the need to know the customers on a personal level. The questions here are

Who are they ?

What is the situation they will use the product ? Is it a situation when they have trouble or is it a romantic one or they want to show off ? What is their mental frame when they use the product ? If they are anxious for example, they need to be calmed, the copy then should be such as to give them confidence.

Ask for pictures of these customers. How do they dress ? Pictures showing how do they use the product ?

What problem does the product/service solve for them ? This may indicate obvious as well as hidden needs.

What is the demographic profile. For example, if they are young, probably they probably will not have the patience to read long copy.

All the above I think should give pointers on what to touch upon in the copy and the style to be adopted.
 
Posted by: shadysamy Accepted Answer
8/15/2005 2:41 PM (CST)
Well I'd basically have to shadow what mgoodman said, the most important factors you'd need to ask before initiating any copy is asking for a SWOT analysis, positioning statement, and creative brief.

Again there are other question that you should be asking such as "USP - Unique Selling Point" .. it's essential that you know the unique selling point 'cause it's mainly what you're gonna be building upon.

Moreover you'd ask questions like:

1. (if it were a product/co broch) Which level would you rate yourself at? A, B C ???
This is essential in co-ordination to the target audience to define how high the TA should see you.

2. Creative direction not in visual but in context .. whether it is rationale or emotional?

I guess we've all covered the essentials... the rest would be more to a personal level.. but make sure you have those essential covered so that you don't go in circles as goodman quoted "Not quite there yet ..." for months and months, and countless iterations."

In some cases clients wouldn't really have answers to such questions, but it's strongly advised that even if he didn't work on the answers so that you both come to an understanding before you initiate your copy.

Cheers...

Hope I was of any help.
 
Posted by: anthonii_truong* Accepted Answer
8/18/2005 8:43 PM (CST)
Some of the question to ask.

1. Why do they want the brochure, what's the purpose? To sell a product? To sell an image? To tell people to stop buying from competitors?

2. Talk to the consumer (target market). If they were looking at brochure to make decision, what kind of information would they want on it. What are the important ones?

3. Talk to the salespeople that are going to use these brochures....what they want it to do, how they are going to use it, etc.

GOod luck
 
Posted by: telemoxie Accepted Answer
8/23/2005 7:21 AM (CST)
All the SWOT analysis and Marketing 101 stuff is nice... but if you want to write a brochure, you might include some PRODUCT FEATURES AND BENEFITS.

If it were my project, I would use Google to produce a list of web sites of competing products. I would go to at least a dozen sites, find the most "fact filled" pages, and print them out. Then, I would take colored highlighters, and highlight various points (e.g. I might highlight product features in one color, benefits in another, company background in another color, etc.)

Once I had highlighted the areas, I would use those sheets to prepare a list of questions. For example, if one company had said, "we have been in business for 20 years", I would write the question, "How long have you been in business?"

I would talk to the sales folk to find out why people buy, and what the "hot buttons" are. I would try to understand the sales process so that the literature could support that sales process.

I would add to this list some high level questions (Why should a prospect buy this? How are you different from the competition?) and I would ask those questions last, after interviewing as many other folk as possible, of the most senior and experienced folk available.

Good luc.
 
Posted by: davef Accepted Answer
8/23/2005 2:36 PM (CST)
I like to know who, within the client company, will be giving final approval to the copy. If possible, include these people early in the review/rewrite process. It's very time-consuming and frustrating to think you have composed a final version only to discover there is an ultimate decision-maker that now wants to be a part of the process.
 
Posted by: bgrebow Accepted Answer
8/23/2005 3:28 PM (CST)
One of the key questions that I ask my clients when they say they want a brochure is "what size do you want it to be?" A trifold brochure is usually only read once, so if you want people to refer back to the information, try designing something different. Also, the most important panel is the one that the reader sees after the brochure is open. It has to have benefits of your product or service. If the reader is not convinced after reading this panel, they probably will not read more. Finally, the panel on a trifold that is least useful is the middle panel on the back. Usually read last.
Hope this helps!
 
Posted by: Shelley, MProfs Moderator Response
8/27/2005 6:19 AM (CST)
Hillary, I am closing your question since it's getting stale. Next time you post something on our forum, please have the courtesy to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner.

Thanks for participating anyway, everyone!

 


Get more answers ... ReTweet this!

Would you like to post a response?
Welcome to Know-How Exchange!
This is a collaborative community. We welcome everyone's participation.
All you need to do is login. Enter your account info in the box above (top right).
Not a member? Not a problem. Register here (it's FREE and EASY).




Know-How Exchange powered by MarketingProfs


Sponsored Links

Buy a Link Now

Just Released ... Download Today!
Just Released ... Download Today!
Look inside
Included with Premium Membership
User Name:
Password:
Remember Me
Forgot your password?

Top 25 KHE Experts
(Copywriting)
mgoodman (4915)
Peter Hobday (4400)
darcy.moen (3862)
Jay Hamilton-Roth (3593)
Frank Hurtte (2320)
PhilGrisolia=Results (2212)
Gary Bloomer (1793)
michael (1423)
Inbox_Interactive (1309)
mbarber (1260)
jkaplan (1250)
CarolBlaha (1145)
D4Demand (1061)
telemoxie (925)
W.M.M.A. (910)
stevea (896)
SteveByrneBranding (855)
thinkmor (846)
shghosh (814)
Deremiah *CPE (700)
Corpcommer (679)
Pepper Blue (658)
Jo Masterson (637)
ASVP/ChrisB (636)
ksalter (629)
Recently Posted Marketing Jobs
Director of Marketing and Communications
Demand Generation Manager
Marketing/Advertising Faculty
Director of Marketing
Market Analyst
Sr. Field Marketing Manager - Business Intell.
Associate Vice President of Marketing and Corporat
Marketing Manager
[more jobs]

Join over 355,000 members ... SIGN UP!

My email address is and I'd like my password to be .

Already a member? Sign In!

My email address is , and my password is .


HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.